WHAT ATTRACTS POSITIVE MANIFESTATION 13 13 The Habit Of Seeking Divine Clarification

In Joshua chapter 9, there was a story written to show us how dangerous it is to operate without discernment. Before that time, G.o.d performed a miracle for His people; He gave them the fortified Jericho as their inheritance. G.o.d did His part because He was committed to giving them the land of Canaan but subsequently, Israel was not discerning.

Let me first state that there are two oppositions you may meet in life – direct and indirect enemies. Direct enemies are those who show they truly hate you by their actions. Thank G.o.d for this type of enemies because they will always help you to remain focused. Indirect enemies are those who pose as friends but are actually your enemies; they disguise to make you believe they are for you whereas, they are not. These types of enemies are greater in force of brutality than the direct ones. They are the enemies that come subtly by deception.

The Gibeonites are good examples of indirect enemies. They deceived Joshua because they knew they could not fight and win Israel. Though they lived just 18 miles distance from where Israel was, they came, disguising as travelers from a long distance. They wore rough clothes, torn shoes and bad baked bread as if they were baked 12 months ago. They envisaged all the possible questions that could be raised by the Israelites.

Apart from deception, indirect enemies also use flattery. The Gibeonites went to the extent of flattering the Israelites about their G.o.d.

And they said unto him, from a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy G.o.d: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, And all that he did to the two kings...We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.

Joshua 9:9-11

It is a pity Joshua didn't bother to ask G.o.d. He didn't bother to seek G.o.d's face until he made an agreement with the Gibeonites, only to discover 3 days after that they were neighbours.

The greatest enemy you will ever fight in your life is the enemy that wants to have access to you through deception. When you are around flatterers, you need divine wisdom to see through their deception. In the above Bible verses, the people of Israel did not consult G.o.d; they only reasoned things out with their brain and felt their decisions were right and reasonable.

There are different types of deception:

Deception by sight: If G.o.d will work wonders in your life, you must not allow your eyes to take decisions based on what you see. What has G.o.d said concerning you? Definitely human being will say their own which may be contrary to what G.o.d had said, but all you need to do is to hold steadfastly onto G.o.d's promises.

Many believers often expose themselves to the danger of confessing what often contradict what G.o.d is saying; some even behave like mediocre who honour the rationality of men above G.o.d's word. They forget to consider what G.o.d is saying. A major weapon the enemy uses against us is what we see; which may contradict our belief and confession of faith.

Our Christian walk should never be dependent on what we see. A carnal Christian will allow what he sees alone to govern his life. Believers are to walk by faith and not by sight. Human beings see today, but G.o.d sees the totality of tomorrow. So don't a.s.sume there is no tomorrow. When you walk by sight and you see Goliath, you will be afraid; but when you walk by faith, you will compare the challenge you are facing with your big G.o.d and fear will have no place in your heart.

Deception by flattery: Flatterers are those who like to praise you. The Gibeonites directed the attention from themselves to the fame of the G.o.d of the Israelites; it was as if they were praising G.o.d, but it was mere flattery. There are some enemies who will flatter you and your G.o.d just to be close to you.

The Gibeonites appealed to the logical reasoning of Joshua; they envisaged the questions he could ask. They flattered Joshua and he also fell for their deceit. This is the same weapon the devil is using against many Christians; especially those who love flattery. The devil also used the same trick for Apostle Paul:

And it came to pa.s.s, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her master much gain by soothsaying: the same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, these men are the servants of the most high G.o.d, which show unto us the way of salvation.

Act 16:16-17

Apostle Paul knew how to handle flatterers; he knew he didn't need anyone possessed of the devil to tell who he was. As a child of G.o.d, you also don't need any demonically-inspired seer to see visions for you. Though what the lady said was right but Paul knew it was not right for an unbeliever to announce him; after all, there is no fellowship between light and darkness.

As a child of G.o.d, you do not seek for vision for curiosity sake. Only G.o.d gives people vision and He does that whenever He wants to; you don't have to go about looking for prophets to tell you visions of tomorrow when the word of G.o.d has already settled that. Some people do not know how to live their lives without a prophet showing them what to do through vision. Such people see witchcraft in everything others do to them and they allow men to control their lives.

If Paul had allowed the damsel to continue with her testimonies, people would have said he also had the same spirit as the lady. But what was the reaction of Paul?

And this she did many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Acts 16:18

The devil wants to distort the truth you already know; that is why he is flattering you. In the last days, there will be many flatterers all around. They will want to flatter you in order to get you. It is not wrong to praise those who are doing what is right, but when somebody you have not seen before is praising you beyond the ordinary, then you need to a.n.a.lyze things with the eye of the spirit and carefully separate flattery from genuine praise.

And such that do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their G.o.d shall be strong, and do exploit.

Daniel 11:32

Some human beings by their nature only feel happy when they are praised. The att.i.tude of such people is based on other's commendation. When they hear words of praises, they are very happy but when someone tells them the truth about themselves, they are downcast. Is it people's opinion that will judge you or G.o.d's? Let your life be ruled by the word of G.o.d. Be committed to G.o.d first, because men can change their opinion anytime. Settle down with G.o.d; do not dance to flattery so you can be strong in these last days.

Deception by pride: There are some people who are deceived by pride because of their past victory. You should be more careful when you succeed so that the spirit of pride will not have a place in you. If care is not taken, someone may so much trust in the method he applied in the past that brought victory and may be tempted to take things for granted. You need wisdom so as not to a.s.sume you will always apply the same method all the time; that was why David was different. For every battle, David will ask G.o.d what to do; he didn't a.s.sume because of the victory of the past.

But that was exactly what Joshua did; he depended on past victory and took things for granted. This was the same Joshua who had earlier sought the face of the Lord on every issue but he got to a level that he became comfortable with the victories of the past and started a.s.suming he had known G.o.d so well that he need not ask G.o.d for divine direction any longer.

And the men took off their victuals, and ask not counsel from the mouth of the Lord.

Joshua 9:14

The people of Israel did not bother to pray again; they based the decision of their lives on a.s.sumption and reasonability.

And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware onto them. And it came to pa.s.s at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwell among them.

Joshua 9:15-16

The question now is: what of if they had prayed? The men of Israel simply checked what the people brought which supported their stories, but they did not inquire from the Lord. Whereas Joshua had previously been careful to seek G.o.d's guidance, but in this case, he was misled by human praise and fell into their trap. This is a lesson for every believer never to a.s.sume you know G.o.d so well that you feel it is no longer necessary to seek His guidance again.

Moments of victory and success are very dangerous times in our spiritual race; those are times we should be more careful because the devil, our arch-enemy is around the corner to make us fall. It is at such times that people embark on projects without seeking G.o.d's approval.

Is it surprising you notice a very committed Christian who has been in church for quite some time; G.o.d delivered him and gave him testimonies but is now taking G.o.d for granted? Such a person will no longer come for prayer meeting or attend mid-week Bible study; all because G.o.d has granted the desires of his heart.

Eventually, the Israelites entered into a covenant with the Gibeonites and they became a thorn in their flesh, but there was nothing they could do about it because they had sworn to an oath not to harm them; they had already entered into an agreement never to do them evil.

More than one thousand years after this agreement, the king of Israel (Saul) killed the Gibeonites out of zeal without the knowledge of the previous covenant made by Joshua. But the Lord who honours covenant defended the Gibeonites; the act of King Saul brought three years famine to the land of Israel.

Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered it is for Saul, and for his b.l.o.o.d.y house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

2 Samuel 21:1

So can they then pray and wish away the repercussion of King Saul's action? Never! G.o.d honours covenant and He opposes anyone who breaks it. Though Joshua and all the people of Israel were tricked by the Gibeonites to make covenant with them, but whether through deceit or not, they still had to bear the consequence of violating covenant. Always seek divine clarification so that you don't enter the trap of the enemy.

To get over the consequence of Saul's action, King David asked the Gibeonites for what they want:

…and he said, what ye shall say, that will I do for you. And they answered the king, the man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coast of Israel, let seven men of his house be delivered unto us, and we will hand them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose. And the king said, I will give them

2 Samuel 21:4b-6

Though David was holy, he had to battle with the consequence of the action of his predecessor. It then means a problem can flow from many generations to a man even though he is born again. For you to terminate any negative generational flow, you must show enough commitment to G.o.d, the only One who can erase curse and stop every evil flow. It is only total commitment to the living G.o.d that can change any negative family history.

This is why bad things sometimes happen to good people. Beloved, remember you are not alone; there is a generation you are coming from and there will still be generations after you. Therefore, you must show G.o.d your complete and unalloyed commitment to reverse any negative order in your family history.

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Isaiah 30:21

Don't a.s.sume on G.o.d, carefully seek clarifications because your decisions may have profound effects not only on you but also the next generation.